Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keefe, or Jonathan Rhys Meyers as we know him, was born on July 27th 1977 in Dublin, Ireland. He had an unsettled childhood, spending some time in an orphanage before being expelled from school at sixteen.

With nothing to do, Jonathon spent time at a local pool hall, and by complete chance it was here where he was discovered by Hubbard Casting. Almost immediately he was signed up for a national advertisement campaign for Knorr soup.

His brief experience in front of the camera, gave him a real taste for acting, so the young Dubliner set about becoming a movie star.

He made his screen debut in the film A Man of No Importance (1994) but you'll do well to spot him. Nevertheless, his tiny role did lead to a more substantial appearance in the movie Michael Collins (1996).

After this, Jonathon's career developed slowly but surely. He gradually built a reputation as one of our hottest up and coming actors with roles in in Velvet Goldmine (1998), and the mini series Gormenghast (2000).

In 2002 Jonathon starred as a football coach in the popular movie Bend It Like Beckham. Vanity Fair followed in 2004, before his lead role in Woody Allen's Match Point a year later.

Jonathon was most recently seen alongside Tom Cruise in the Hollywood blockbuster Mission: Impossible III (2006).